Carton



R. iElDMAN July 17, 1962 CARTON Filed DSC. 5, 1959 United States Patent Ofi-"ice Y 3,044,680 Patented Julyl`17,

3,044,630 CARTON Robert Zeidman, Mamaroneck, N.Y., assigner to Q-Tips Inc., a corporation of New York Filed Dec. 3, 1959, Ser. No. 857,024 1 Claim. (Cl. 229-17) This invention relates to cartons formed of sheet material such as paper board, or the like, and which are used as containers for various products, especially products which are dry and light in weight such, for example, as cotton balls.

The aim of the invention is to provide a carton construction by which easy access to the contents may be had with the carton in either the vertical or horizontal position, together with a closure construction -by which the carton may be effectively closed and which also may be opened to any desired extent, the closure construction also to serve as a dispensing support for the contents protecting them from the work surface -on which the carton may rest.

The construction of the carton may best be understood by considering the accompanying drawing and the detailed description of the carton in reference to the various figures. In the drawing:

FiG. l is a perspective view of the carton in upright closed position;

FIG. 2 shows the upper portion of the carton with the parts in open position;

FIG. 3 is a vertical section taken on the plane indicated by line 3 3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a detail horizontal section taken on the plane indicated by line 4-4 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 shows a carton in horizontal position and as a dispensing device for the contents.

Referring to the drawing, my improved carton has `front and rear walls 1 and 2 and left and right side walls 3 and 4. Its closure construction arranged at one end of this carton, which is shown as the top in the drawing, comprises an access panel 5 hinged at 6 to the upper edge of the rear wall 2 and which is provided at its opposite side edges with integral, quadrant-shaped dust aps 7 and 8. These dust flaps have arcuate forward edges 9 and 10 the upper ends of which lare located at the front edge of access panel 5, and whose lower ends terminate in straight or tangent portions 11 and 12.

The front wall 1 is provided at its upper end with a narrow ap guide portion 13 which is connected to the front wall `by a hinge score 14 arranged parallel with the upper edge of the flap guide. A die-cut slot 15 is provided centrally of hinge score 14 for -a purpose which will presently appear.

The access panel 5 is provided with a depending front panel 16 which is slightly narrower than flap guide portion 13 and which is provided at its central part with a tab extension 17. When access panel 5 is folded downwardly to closed position, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the depending front panel 16 extends or telescopes over the outer surface of flap guide portion 13 and the tab extension 17 enters within the slot 15 to hold the panel 5 closed but easily releasable with the ngers. The outer surface of depending panel 16 is substantially co-planar with the outer surface of front wall i1 and this causes the panel 16 to engage the flap guide 13 and tilt it inwardly to a slight extent, as shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4.

The flap guide 13 remains in this tilted position when the access panel 5 is swung upwardly, its free end edges 18 and 19 thus engaging the inner surfaces of the quadrant-shaped dust flaps 7 and `8 so as to hold their outer surfaces against the inner surfaces of the side walls 3 and `4. The free end edges 18 and 19 are cut back somewhat so as to allow the dust iiaps 7 and 8 to move in telescoping relation to the side 'walls of the carton, but the arrangement is such that these dust flaps are squeezed somewhat between the end edges of iiap guide 13 and the side walls so as to provide suliicient frictional engagement to maintain the access panel 5 in any yangular position to which it may be moved by the user.

Thus, the access panel may be opened to any desired extent, and when the carton is laid on its back on a supporting surface 21, as shown in FIG. 5, the inner surface of the access panel and the quadrant-shaped dust aps 7 `and 8 serve as a dispensing area from which the contents, such as cotton balls, may be removed as desired, and yet prevented from contact with the work surface 21 on which t-he carton rests. The lower straight or tangent sections 11 and 12 at the bottom edges of the dust flaps 7 and 8 engage the inner surface of front wall 1 and serve as stops to limit the opening movement of access panel 5 so that it is never allowed to be moved to the plane of the rear wall 2 (FIG. 5) and this panel, together with its depending front panel 16 and the dust aps 7 and 8 serve to confine the contents or articles to be dispensed within the boundaries of the closure parts.V

For shipping purposes the carton is enclosed in a tube 20 of suitable wrapping material such, for example, as cellophane. This not only produces an attractive covering, but protects the depending front panel 16 in such a way as to prevent the unintended opening of the carton.

By means of the construction of my present invention a dispensing type of carton has been provided which is easily opened and closed by the user and which may be opened to a greater or less extent, as desire'd, and which provides adequate protection for the contents, and is extremely convenient to use.

yIt will be understood that changes may be made in the construction as `described and, therefore, that the scope of the invention is set forth in the appended claim.

I claim:

A carton including front, rear and side walls and having a closure construction comprising an end access panel hinged to said rear wall and having lat each side a quadrant-shaped integral dust flap having an arcuate front edge, said arcuate edge extending from the front edge of said 'access panel and terminating in a straight portion at its lower end, said front wall having a narrow iiap guide portion with free end edges adjacent the carton side walls, said liap guide lbeing connected to said front wall by a hinge score parallel with the upper edge of said flap guide and having `a slot disposed substantially in the line of said hinge score, said access panel having a depending front panel slightly less in width than said flap guide portion, said depending front panel having a tab extension located to be received within said slot when said access panel is in closed position, said depending front panel overlying said ap guide, and the outer surface of said depend-V References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Auchterlonie Apr. 27, 1896 Walcox Dec. 6, 1898 Cavanagh Dec. 12, 1905 Block Apr. 12, 1910 Haberrnan Apr. 2, 1929 

